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Canada Begins Tariffs on American Goods; Midterm Campaign Kicks Off; Hurricane Lowell Devastates Western Hawaii. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired September 08, 2026 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York, ahead here on "CNN Newsroom."
Canada fires the latest shot in the tariff war, imposing duties of up to 50 percent on more than 700 American goods. We'll tell you what some of them are.
And Hurricane Lowell is lashing Hawaii with heavy rain and dangerous surf as the powerful storm nears its closest approach to the islands.
And on a brighter note, got some tips on the best places to see some colorful fall foliage across the U.S. It's that time of year.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from New York, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval.
SANDOVAL: All right, let's begin with the latest escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and one of its closest allies. Canada's new counter-tariffs on many American products are now in effect -- have been in effect for about three hours now, with duties of 15, 25 and 50 percent on more than 700 American goods.
Canada is now doubling its tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum, up to 50 percent. Home appliances, agricultural products, dairy and paper goods will also likely to take a hit. Canadian officials are saying that they are matching the Trump administration's recent tariffs dollar-for-dollar after trade talks broke down last month.
Canada is the second largest export market for American goods, and these new tariffs could make it harder for U.S. companies to sell there. And that means more uncertainty for American businesses and workers.
Earlier, CNN spoke with Diamond Isinger, a policy strategist and also former special adviser on U.S.-Canada relations to then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She shared her assessment on Canada's retaliatory tariffs. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DIAMOND ISINGER, POLICY STRATEGIST, AND FORMER SPECIAL ADVISER ON U.S.-CANADA RELATION UNDER JUSTIN TRUDEAU: Canada has been put in an untenable position of having these actions taken against us despite our good-faith efforts in recent times, our long-term partnership with the United States. And we need to stand up for ourselves, both in the context of a trade war and set of negotiations, but also for our continued sovereignty in the face of memes and much more serious threats from the U.S. President.
I wish any of us knew how this ended, but in terms of what the consequence could look like, we are absolutely faced with challenges here in Canada right now. We have hard-hit sectors, especially in steel, aluminum, the forestry sector, some others, that have been facing the actions that the U.S. has taken in terms of existing tariffs that have already been introduced.
We have, with these new retaliatory tariffs, challenges in terms of the inputs required for certain Canadian businesses. But this retaliatory tariff list of this 700 or so products that are being having new retaliatory tariffs applied to them by Canada as of tonight has been a very carefully considered list. It's actually one that the government of Canada put out, announced several weeks ago, shortly after the collapse of talks with the U.S. administration, did further consultation on, made some revisions to, to really make sure that it was responsive to the needs of, you know, Canadians, stakeholders, industry, and others.
And so I'm quite confident that as we press ahead, while it is uncomfortable, it may result in unfortunately increased costs in the short to medium term, it's the price of us continuing to stand up for ourselves and making sure that our country can both be and be seen to be strong.
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SANDOVAL: And amid this trade war, a reminder that there are now under 60 days until the U.S. midterm elections and the battle for control of the Senate is about to kick into overdrive. CNN's Arlette Saenz has more on the key seats that could determine which party holds the majority.
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Control of the Senate is up for grabs as Labor Day kicks off an eight-week sprint to election day.
SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Are you ready to work? Are you ready to win?
SAENZ (voice-over): Nine states are set to determine the balance of power in the Senate, six currently held by Republicans and three by Democrats.
Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win the majority. For President Donald Trump's final two years in office. DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If we lose,
you're going to lose your border. You're going to lose your tax cuts. You're going to lose everything that we've done.
SAENZ (voice-over): The best pickup opportunity for Democrats is North Carolina, a state Trump won during all three of his presidential runs.
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Democrat Roy Cooper, a popular former two-term governor, seen as the favorite against Trump loyalist Michael Whatley.
ROY COOPER (D), FORMER NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR, AND NORTH CAROLINA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm hitting the road to talk about how I will work to make stuff cost less.
MICHAEL WHATLEY, THEN-SENATORIAL CANDIDATE FOR NORTH CAROLINA: I am thrilled that he has asked me to run for Senate in North Carolina and is giving me an opportunity to represent you.
SAENZ (voice-over): Maine is another top target for Democrats. GOP Senator Susan Collins is running for a sixth term, facing off against Troy Jackson, who Democrats nominated to replace Graham Platner after the scandal plagued candidate exited the race.
TROY JACKSON (D), MAINE SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: We've never seen a movement like this in Maine, ever. And I've been waiting a long time for that.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I have worked with five presidents. I've supported them when I think they're right. I have not hesitated to oppose them when I think that they're wrong.
SAENZ (voice-over): Republicans are eyeing Michigan as the party's best offensive opportunity, with former Congressman Mike Rogers taking on Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in a race that will test whether a progressive can win in a battleground state.
ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Money on up? Money in your pocket.
MIKE ROGERS (R), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FOR MICHIGAN, AND MICHIGAN SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: When I get back there, Mr. President, if you haven't gotten it done, we're going to pass the SAVE Act.
SAENZ (voice-over): After Michigan, the best potential Republican flips are in New Hampshire and Georgia, where Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff is running strong against GOP Congressman Mike Collins.
REP. MIKE COLLINS (R-NH): You all know what the mission is, is to put a Republican in that seat and get rid of that Jon Ossoff in November.
OSSOFF: The wave is building. The kind of wave that comes once a generation. The people have been pushed too far. And they decide all together, all at once, to say what?
CROWD: Enough is enough.
SAENZ (voice-over): Democrats are confronting a difficult map, needing to win in states that voted for Trump by double digits, such as Ohio, Alaska, Iowa, and Texas.
KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL, AND TEXAS SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Pray for our Texas leaders, pray for these elections. Texas cannot afford to lose these races.
SAENZ (voice-over): After decades of failures in statewide races, Democrats believe Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's controversial past, and State Representative James Talarico's broader appeal --
JAMES TALARICO (D), TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE, AND TEXAS SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: This is the way that puppet politicians like Ken Paxton stay in power, is they divide and they distract. But I think Texans across the board, across the spectrum, are on to that game.
SAENZ (voice-over): Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.
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SANDOVAL: Joining me now, it's Mike Madrid, he's a co-founder of the Lincoln Project, and also the founder of the Latino Working Class Project. Mike, it's always great to see you.
MIKE MADRID, CO-FOUNDER, LINCOLN PROJECT, AND FOUNDER, LATINO WORKING CLASS PROJECT: Thank you so much for having me, always good to be with you.
SANDOVAL: So here we go, it's homestretch ahead of the midterms, those last 60 days to election day. Mike, what are you closely watching when it comes to Republicans, especially those at risk of losing control of Congress? Which side do you think appears to have the most momentum at this point?
MADRID: Oh, I don't think there's any doubt that if I were running campaigns or heading up the operation for either party, I'd definitely want to be with the Democratic Party. I think that's probably the universal sentiment right now.
Look, as we close in after Labor Day, the official stretch of the campaigns, we move from what we call the fundamentals in races, which is looking at things like the generic ballot, and kind of where the approval ratings are for the President, the direction of the economy, and start framing more specific messages, and that's what you're going to see a campaign start to do starting this week and for the next 60 days.
Most of those policy and political issues definitely favor the Democrats right now attacking on corruption, tying it to the affordability crisis, when a quagmire in the Middle East and a war that nobody wanted to be a part of, the Epstein files, and on and on. So there's not a whole lot for Republicans to hold back the barrage that they're going to have to hold back to just try to limit the damage that will be done. And so I think Democrats are feeling very good about their position right now and are expanding their map.
SANDOVAL: What do you think Republicans should be doing, though, Mike, in your view? We're about to go into this convention, this Trumpapalooza that's expected in the coming days. American voters will certainly be watching. What is the tone, you think, that perhaps not necessarily President Trump, who will be the main speaker on day one, but that the rest of the Republicans should project to the American people?
MADRID: Boy, the real difficulty for Republicans is because the environment and the mood is so sour that you should do what most Republican members of Congress are doing, which is stay the heck out of Dallas. Stay away from the event and try to argue that you are as independent as you are and can be.
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We're seeing dozens of Republican candidates take Donald Trump's name off of their websites, off of their campaign signs, off of their materials, and you're also seeing things like America First tags coming off and coming down and the word independent popping up a lot more on those same materials.
So again, as somebody who's been in these survival modes before for Republicans many times in the course of the past 30 years of my campaigns, you've got to show distance to save yourself. It's kind of every person for themselves at this point when these numbers are this bad. There's nothing to really run on and you're going to have to make a referendum on your own local presence, your own relationship to the people you've served over a long period of time and hope that's enough.
SANDOVAL: Mike, before we move on from midterms, just curious if I can get your thoughts on Democrats. As you point out, they clearly have a big advantage going into this, but do you think that they have the vision to counter Republicans? I mean, they're still grappling, obviously, with the rise of Democratic socialists and they are certainly still struggling to broaden their appeal to voters.
MADRID: That's a great question. You're pretty good at this.
Look, the Democrats do not have a unifying message. The Democrats are going to win and they're going to win by probably very significant numbers, not because of who they are, but because they are simply not Republicans. And so you do see this broad base, this big umbrella of people that will be moving, this coalition, this return of Hispanic voters, this huge rightward shift we saw just two years ago.
Younger voters are overwhelmingly saying they're going to vote for Democrats. People who've never voted before signing up as Democrats, Democratic registration is kind of exploding. None of this has anything to do with the popularity of the Democratic Party, has everything to do with how much they're troubled by what they're seeing in Washington, D.C., and that absolutely spells trouble on the horizon after the November election. But of course, politics being what it is, you take what's in front of you, and right now that's enough. I wouldn't be stepping on my message and trying to articulate more than they are, running an offensive attack on corruption and affordability. It's working.
Stick with it. The President is helping you, and wait until the Wednesday after the first Tuesday in November to adjust your strategy and worry about that on another day.
SANDOVAL: The issue of A.I. data centers has certainly made itself present on the campaign trail in many cases. It's been fueling debate and no shortage of backlash around the country. In your view, why has it become such a focus for politicians and some of their constituents, you think?
MADRID: Boy, that is really, this is the defining issue for this cycle, at least on the ground level. I was in Franklin County, Ohio, just a few days ago, and seeing over 119 data centers have been cited there and hearing the concerns of people in those districts. I mean, look, this is one of those rare moments in politics where you can see the physical manifestation of people's anxieties and worries about the future.
This isn't as much a concern about construction or traffic or electricity or water use, although those are absolutely there. This really embodies, I think, people's fear of the age that we're heading into that they feel no control over. What does artificial intelligence mean for society, not just professionally but personally?
And there's also growing angst, anger, and concern about the techno- economy, the billionaire class, the sort of oligarchy that the Democrats are successfully framing as corrupt, using these systems to fuel that new age that a lot of people don't feel that they're going to be a part of as it distances themselves from reality.
So I think it's just this cross-current of extraordinarily emotional tectonic plates, political tectonic plates, at the moment, and 60 days is a real tough time to change the narrative. I think people are very upset with these A.I. data centers, and I think it's going to be determinative in a lot of congressional races throughout the country.
SANDOVAL: Mike Madrid, I always appreciate your perspective. Thank you so much.
MADRID: Thanks for so much for having me.
SANDOVAL: Now we're following developments from Hawaii, where the outer bands of Hurricane Lowell are flashing the islands with heavy rain, gusty winds, and some dangerous surf. Residents there being urged to stay home at this hour as conditions continue deteriorating.
Lowell remains a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 miles per hour, and a hurricane warning is currently in effect for the islands of Kauai and Ni'ihau, while a tropical storm warning is in effect for Oahu. And the storm's projected path is shifting it closer to Hawaii. Lowell's center forecasts to make its closest pass to the west of Kauai as a Category 2 hurricane in the coming hours.
Now already we've seen some roads flooded after heavy rain in Oahu on Sunday. More rain is in the forecast throughout the islands, though the heaviest is expected on Kauai and Ni'ihau. That's where as much as 10 inches of rain could fall.
The mayor of Kauai County spoke with CNN just a short time ago, and here's what he said.
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DEREK KAWAKAMI, KAUAI COUNTY MAYOR: We're telling everybody to please stay off the roads. Right now the wind is continuing to just blow really hard.
It's been raining all day, so all of the soil and the trees are saturated, the rivers are swollen, and when you have high wind and trees that have just been doused with rain, and you have winds coming in different directions, those trees tend to fall, break, they could provide a lot of hazardous conditions. So for the most part, a lot of people have really listened to our advice, and for that I'm very thankful.
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SANDOVAL: We have new details to share with you about the deadly Amazon cargo plane crash at Miami's airport. The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board now saying that all five of those people who were killed were inside vehicles, were struck by the aircraft.
That Boeing 767 you see in that video ran off the end of the runway on Sunday. In addition to the fatalities, five others were also injured. Some video that we want to show you, and it actually captures the moments after the 21 air flight came to a fiery halt.
A crew member appears to jump from the aircraft to the ground before walking away from the crash site. We do know that two pilots were rescued from the cockpit, but their conditions are still unknown.
And dozens of investigators are examining the wreckage. The NTSB chair says that a 32-person team will be at the scene of the crash for at least the next week. CNN's Pete Muntean in Miami.
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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The National Transportation Safety Board just wrapped up its first briefing here at Miami International Airport. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy, along with a team of about 30 other investigators, surveyed the scene here and described it as utter devastation. That Boeing 767 from Amazon Prime Air went off the end of runway 30
here at about 130 miles per hour, according to the publicly available data. Went into a white Ford Econoline van with seven people on board. It was being used by an aircraft cleaning crew on the perimeter road inside the airport fence.
She says that van was practically destroyed. Then the airplane, the NTSB said, continued through the airport fence, across four lanes of road, hit a Toyota Corolla crossover, and then ultimately came to rest in an airport parking lot.
NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said this is still a recovery operation, and crews are trying to take fuel off of the plane. As she says, there is fuel everywhere. This Boeing 767 had left San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sunday morning and was attempting to make a landing here at Miami International Airport, that clearly went horribly wrong.
The video shows the airplane still airborne at about the halfway point of the runway, typically a spot where the airplane would be decelerating and nearly taxiing off the runway. The data from flightradar24 shows this airplane also making a steeper than normal approach.
Investigators thankfully have recovered the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. Those will be analyzed at the NTSB's lab in Washington, D.C. The NTSB says it will deliver another update on Tuesday.
Pete Muntean, CNN, Miami International Airport.
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SANDOVAL: And there's still much more to come here on "CNN Newsroom." After a weekend of U.S. efforts to revive peace talks, Russia already back to resuming its deadly attacks on Kyiv. We'll bring you the latest from the region.
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SANDOVAL: Thank you so much for staying with us.
Saudi Arabia's military says that at least 73 civilians were wounded and unbacked Houthi militants. Saudi-led coalition forces say that the attacks targeted several civilian and economic sites in several cities within the kingdom on Tuesday morning.
Women and children are among those wounded. The Saudi-led group vowing that it will take all necessary measures to neutralize the threat posed by the rebel group.
A major volcano in Indonesia has erupted three more times this morning. Officials are saying that they don't yet know the severity of those eruptions, but they do know that this volcano, Anuk Krakutawa, erupted over the weekend and shot lava into the air and sent ash drifting all the way toward Jakarta. It's one of about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which straddles the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is a highly active seismic zone.
The death toll from those devastating floods in Nepal and China has risen to nearly 1400 people. Chinese officials have allowed CNN to get a closer first-hand view of the disaster zone on the China-Nepal border. It is a rare government-organized reporting trip, but CNN does maintain full editorial control of the coverage.
Here's CNN's Simone McCarthy with more.
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SIMONE MCCARTHY, CNN SENIOR CHINA REPORTER (voice-over): This was Gyirong Port, the main gate, the immigration halls, customs, the parking lots where buses waited, the last man-made structure pilgrims, tourists, and traders walked through before crossing between Nepal and China. That building, bridge, road are gone.
MCCARTHY: This is the spot where a huge wall of water washed over a five-story building in video that was captured on surveillance footage on August 26th when devastating floods and landslide hit the China- Nepal border. I'm standing now in the area where that building was.
You would never know that there had been anything here at all. It's just completely flattened.
MCCARTHY (voice-over): What is left is an apocalyptic field of mud so deep that, in places, machines are cutting through about 12 feet of it. The first teams did not arrive by road. They climbed, got on rubber boats and helicopters because the highway had been torn out.
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ZHANG XIAOJUN, CHINESE RESCUE TEAM LEADER (through translator): All of the structures above ground had been swept away by the mudslide. It was really heartbreaking to see. So many of our fellow Chinese lost their precious lives in this disaster.
MCCARTHY (voice-over): Zhang also says at this stage they are clearing mud, layer by layer, searching for the deceased. There are no signs of life nearly two weeks in.
Chinese authorities have confirmed dozens of deaths on this side of the border in Tibet. But what the world can see of this loss is tightly managed.
MCCARTHY: This is the first time that foreign media is getting access into this area where CNN is part of a small group of foreign reporters who've been given access to this site. The first time that foreign media have been allowed entry here. But certainly this is a place where there are many questions about who is here, many families seeking more answers. MCCARTHY (voice-over): Like Arushi Gupta's family in India. Those were
her last messages to her father, less than an hour before the flood struck. The 33-year-old even included a picture of the Gyirong port crossing as she approached the port.
This is her father's message to Chinese authorities.
AJAY GUPTA, DAUGHTER ARUSHI GUPTA MISSING SINCE FLOOD: My request to them with folded hand is please provide any information you have about my daughter, I shall be grateful to you. I am requesting China authority to please share any details they have.
MCCARTHY (voice-over): More than 500 people remain missing on China's side of the border. Roughly half of them foreign nationals.
When asked about the government's plans on releasing data about those who were at the port that fateful day, Chinese officials say information about missing foreign nationals has been shared with their embassies.
PU WEIDONG, PUBLIC SECURITY DEPARTMENT OF THE TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION (through translator): After the identities of the victims' remains are confirmed, the relevant departments will properly hand over the remains and belongings to the families. The specific procedures for claiming and handling will be carried out in strict accordance with relevant regulations.
MCCARTHY (voice-over): And so the search continues. But the answers may never come.
Simone McCarthy, CNN, Gyirong Port.
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SANDOVAL: And still ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," the story of a man who is running across mountains in Europe. His hope is to raise awareness for Ukraine. He'll join us from the top of Poland's highest peak after the break, stay with us.
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SANDOVAL: Hey, welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. And these are today's top stories.
Canada is putting pressure on the U.S. with new tariffs that took effect just a few hours ago, in fact. The new duties will impact more than 700 U.S. goods, from steel and aluminum to home appliances and agricultural products. Canada says that it's a direct response to the Trump administration's recent tariffs, which Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to match dollar for dollar.
The outer bands of Hurricane Lowell are currently lashing parts of Hawaii with some heavy rain as a Category 2 storm inches closer to those islands. Conditions there have been getting worse, especially on the western islands of Kauai and Niao, where hurricane warnings are in effect. The projected track has the storm's center passing to the west of those islands before turning toward the northwest and moving away from the state.
The five people who were killed in that Amazon cargo plane crash at Miami's airport were inside vehicles that were hit by the aircraft. That's according to new information from the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board. The Boeing 767 ran off the runway on Sunday, authorities say recovery crews have retrieved the aircraft's black box, which should reveal audio from the cabin and more.
Ukrainian officials say that at least two people have been killed and ten others wounded in a Russian missile and drone attack in the capital of Kyiv. This comes after a 72-hour truce expired just a day after U.S. envoys visited the region hoping to revive peace talks.
The temporary truce had protected only Kyiv and Moscow, while Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited both capital cities over the weekend. Both men appeared optimistic about a resolution after extensive meetings with Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy. In a moment, you'll hear from a man who is running in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, but first we're going to go to CNN's Clare Sebastian for the latest on this ongoing war.
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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, this weekend of diplomacy came amidst a cycle of escalating violence we've seen over the last week and a half or so, pretty much nonstop Russian attacks on Kyiv. And, look, this was a really big moment for Ukraine, but barely had the dust settled when we saw this cycle of violence restart again. The air raid alert back on in Kyiv Monday afternoon for the first time since the early hours of Sunday morning.
On Monday, we saw both sides exchanging long-range strikes. There was a British-American tobacco facility that was struck by a Russian drone in the Chernihiv region to the northeast of Kyiv. One person reportedly injured there, according to local authorities.
And on the other side, Ukraine continuing to fire drones at Russia. A video emerged from the central Perm region in Russia of a Ukrainian drone purportedly hitting a residential building, video that CNN has verified of that. One person killed, according to the governor of that region in Russia.
So, look, all of that, I think, clearly underscoring the challenges ahead, as the U.S. seems committed to reinvigorating, to restarting this diplomatic process. The U.S. envoy is pushing now for a restart of trilateral meetings involving Ukraine, Russia, and the United States. The Kremlin on Monday saying that it wouldn't rule that out, but perhaps slow-balling, saying that it's not ready to talk about location or time.
And meanwhile, Ukraine really wants to seize on the momentum here. It had talks in Kyiv about a winter package of aid involving help for its energy facilities and in terms of air defense as well. That was very positive.
There was talk of security guarantees. They want to seize on that momentum. They want talks to continue to involve the Europeans, as they did on Sunday.
But, look, Russia is really offering no opening here. We heard after talks in Moscow on Saturday Russia revert again to talking about resolving the root causes of this conflict.
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That is shorthand for its maximalist goals in this war, including things like Ukraine withdrawing from the Donbas and promising not to join NATO.
So, look, at this point, clearly it looks like we'll see more U.S.-led diplomacy ahead, but it isn't clear how they're going to break this cycle of violence.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: Well, joining me now live from the Poland-Slovakia border is Fredric Splendore. He's an elite ultra runner and founder of Beyond Borders. He's currently trekking across Europe and also some of its highest mountains to raise awareness for Ukraine.
Frederic, 9:35 A.M. where you are, high atop Poland's highest peak. Good morning to you.
FREDERIC SPLENDORE, FOUNDER, BEYOND BORDERS: Good morning. Hi, thank you.
SANDOVAL: Frederic, this journey of yours, it apparently is as picturesque as it is meaningful. You're in the middle of this project. It is taking you from Monaco to Ukraine, you've referred to it as your 4200-kilometer humanitarian journey. Tell me what it's about and the inspiration behind it.
SPLENDORE: Yes, sure, with pleasure. You know, I'm trying to do something good in this world, something important.
I think in a life, what is the most important is to save maybe other people's life, other animals' life, help each other. So I'm trying to help the population in war since four years now. You know, in Switzerland, we don't know war, but I think it should be really hard living in war since four years.
So I'm thinking of them and I'm trying to help them to make a fundraising charity and to help them there, yes.
SANDOVAL: And if you could just expand a little bit more on your goal. Well, it is obviously increasing awareness in support of the Ukrainian people. Your hope is also to launch a fundraising campaign. I mean, what kind of support do you hope to offer the Ukrainian people amid this years- long war?
SPLENDORE Yes, so I created a charity, which is called Beyond Effort, and I just use it to make the charity fundraising. And this will all go to a big Swiss charity, which is called Swiss Solidarity.
And this charity helps people in Ukraine, helps to rebuild their home, helps to live through winter with the cold, really cold in Ukraine in winter, help them with the psychological effects of the war. Yes, they help them in a lot of different ways, and yes, I'm happy to do it for them, even if I don't know them. Yes.
SANDOVAL: Frederic, when do you expect to arrive in Ukraine, and what do you expect to do when you arrive?
SPLENDORE: Yes, this is really symbolic, because I'm trying to arrive in Ukraine on the 21st of September. It will be the International Day of Peace. Not a lot of people know this date, but I think it's a beautiful one.
So it's still 13 days to go, and yes, a little bit more than 15, almost 20 marathons to go there. So yes, International Day of Peace, 21st of September is the goal.
SANDOVAL: You've been running since you were five years old, I read. Just tell me about the preparation that's gone into this, and also just some of the incredible landscapes that you've encountered along the way, as well as the people.
SPLENDORE: Yes, wow, yes. So I've been running since five years old, it's true.
The last four years, I was in a marathon, a 100 km race, but this year I wanted to do something more, something for people. So yes, the preparation, it was already a bit done with all these marathons and 100 km. I was in the 100 km Swiss Championship in 2023, but the last six months I trained a lot.
I did five races in Switzerland and in France to train for this project. It was really tough, but it was a good preparation, and I'm happy to be at 3400 km today. Yes, it's hard.
The first part was really hard with the Via Alpina. I did a record on it, but it was really hard, and I did this record to make my project known in the world and to try to make the fundraising work.
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And the second part is hard too, because it was really hot in Hungary, in Croatia. I met some amazing people, Lado. I don't know if he will hear me, but he was the best, with his friend Josip in Croatia.
They are so welcoming people. They didn't know me, and they offered me hotel, restaurants to my team also. They are great people, and they lived the war, so maybe it's why they wanted to help me for this project.
SANDOVAL: Frederic Splendore, thank you so much for taking us along on your journey and showing us what is just an absolutely beautiful scenery behind you and for what you continue to do for the Ukrainian people. We wish you the best of luck.
SPLENDORE: Thank you very much. Thank you for having me today, and I wish you the best too.
SANDOVAL: Thank you. Safe travels.
And there's so much more ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," including a Nigerian oil refinery that has signed the papers to go public. The CEO of Dango Group says that it's set to be the largest IPO in Africa's history. More on that in a moment.
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SANDOVAL: Welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York, and here are your business headlines.
Hunter Biden's infamous laptop scandal is resurfacing. The former president's son is planning to launch his own meme coin, Dollar Sign Laptop, the cryptocurrency aims to capitalize on the controversial FBI seizure of his laptop in 2019. It was said to contain explicit images, video of drug use, as well as emails, documents, and financial records.
[03:45:06]
German automaker Volkswagen says that one of its plants in northwestern Germany is set to shift its focus to defense production. The company says that the plant will potentially make components for air defense systems for Germany and other European countries. The plant was bought by a partnership between Germany's state-of-the-art sector investment firm, headquartered in Israel.
The company behind Africa's largest oil refinery is one step closer to going public in Nigeria. Dangote Group, their refinery business, signed IPO documents on Monday. It plans to sell more than 4 billion ordinary shares, aimed at raising funds to expand its refinery capacity; it is said to be the continent's biggest ever share sale.
Eleni Giokos spoke to Dangote's CEO about this landmark moment for African businesses.
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ALIKO DANGOTE, CEO, DANGOTE GROUP: This ought to be the biggest IPO ever in the history of Africa, and I hope definitely to be massively oversubscribed. The demand is very overwhelming.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's pretty phenomenal, but many people are also asking the question, why not do a primary listing in London or New York? DANGOTE: The IPO is going to open. I think each and every African has
an opportunity to have a stake in this great refinery. After we have gone to 1.4 million in the next 2.5 years, we will now list in the U.S.
And I believe a lot of other people too will join. Because by that time, we are going to be the biggest refinery ever in the history of the world, with a massive petrochemical complex. And I think it is going to be something that people will definitely rush buying.
GIOKOS: It is quite a moment for you, Aliko, I have to say, because it values your company, your refinery and your petrochemical plant in Lagos at about $50 billion. I mean, what does that mean in terms of profitability every single year? And can you keep it up if something changes on the oil price front? How are you weighing up the economics of it all? Because you want to expand and you want to be producing 1.4 million barrels of oil per day and not just 700.
DANGOTE: Yes, well, you know, at least when we get there, we will be now major suppliers of jet fuel to the world market. Not only Europe, we will be the biggest in terms of gas oil, which means diesel, to the world market.
GIOKOS: Yes, let's talk about Kenya. I mean, you know, there's news and reports out there that you're going to be breaking ground on the refinery there at the end of this month. That's going to cost $15 billion.
If I remember correctly, the last time you and I spoke, you said you probably wouldn't build a refinery again because of the headaches that you had in Nigeria. What has changed your mind? Because clearly you've got the formula right and it's working in your favor.
DANGOTE: I told you that, look, I will never ever attempt to build a refinery again. But right now, to tell you the truth, I now understand how it is. We have the best team in the world to deliver.
We have a team that are very solid. We are used to delivering this. This is something that we're taking it now as our own patent.
I don't believe, and I repeat, I don't believe there's any company today on earth that can deliver 700,000 barrels of refinery per day. We now have the techniques, we know how to do it, and we will deliver on schedule and on cost.
GIOKOS: We know that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz isn't what it should be. We've got diesel prices reaching record highs in the United States. Frankly, as you mentioned, we're seeing still issues in the supply chain, frankly, worldwide.
You have benefited from what we're seeing in terms of the crisis in the Middle East. I know you've been getting a lot of calls from investors and interest. What has that been like of late? Do you still get the calls? Are you, for example, speaking to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company? What's happening in terms of potential partnerships? DANGOTE: Yes, potential partnership is always there. There are quite a
lot of people, without mentioning names, that are talking to us.
They really want to partner with us. We have quite a lot, but we are not trying to gather people to (inaudible) and make these investments. We always want to (inaudible) and invest.
We want to risk that investment by putting up our own resources to make sure that we deliver, so that nobody will be thinking about risk. But internationally, whether there are interest, massive interest. There are quite a lot of people that, yes, they have a lot of interest.
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[03:50:00]
SANDOVAL: Well, there's still much more to come here on "CNN Newsroom," including Fall Colors, they're on the way in North America. But when they arrive, it really depends on the weather. When we come back, how warmer temperatures are changing one of nature's most spectacular displays.
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SANDOVAL: Well hundreds of thousands of people floated the streets of New York for the city's annual West Indian Day Parade. The celebration of Caribbean culture allows many to fully embrace their heritage through community cuisine and plenty of music.
But this year's parade comes against the backdrop of intensified immigration enforcements across the United States. Organizers say that the parade is both a defiant assertion of pride and a rare bright spot for many facing uncertainty.
And as summer comes to a close in the northern hemisphere and cooler weather sets in, the Leaves are about to put on their yearly show. But that show seems to be changing. You see, warmer fall temperatures are delaying peak foliage and extreme weather can affect the colors that we see.
Here's CNN's Jen Sullivan with more.
[03:55:02]
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JEN SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): The start of fall means the vibrant green leaves will soon transition to the warm hues of orange, yellow and red, turning mountain ranges into mosaics of fall colors.
ALEXANDRA KOSIBA, EXTENSION ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF FORESTRY, UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT: That change is a visual of, you know, change in forest health, change in tree health, that climate change is having on our forests. SULLIVAN (voice-over): Alexandra Kosiba leads the Extension Forestry
Program at the University of Vermont. She says trees change color to prepare for winter.
KOSIBA: The technical term is senescent. It's really this process of the tree slowing down photosynthesis.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): In New England, the fall foliage creates a lot of green for the economy. The National Park Service estimates leaf peepers generate $8 billion for the region each year, but extreme weather is impacting the fall foliage season.
KOSIBA: If it's really warm around that time when they, you know, historically have started the senescence process, they might delay, and that's sort of what we're seeing.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): In Burlington, Vermont, fall nights are almost 4.5 degrees warmer than they were in 1970. Kosiba says those warmer temperatures have delayed peak season by about a week. Sunlight, rainfall, drought, and even wildfires, including the recent fires in Canada, can all impact how well and when the trees change.
The good news is the fall foliage is expected to be vibrant in New England this year. Travel and Leisure recently released a list of places that have the longest fall foliage season, clocking in at number one, the Adirondacks in New York, followed by the Great Smoky Mountains in the south, the Green Mountains in Vermont, the Blue Ridge Parkway Corridor, and the Ozarks.
Areas that have vast contrasts between temperatures during the day and at night tend to experience better fall colors. The types of trees and the landscape also impact the foliage.
I'm Jen Sullivan.
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SANDOVAL: I will definitely see you in the Adirondacks. Thank you so much for watching, I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. I'll be right back with you with more of your headlines here on "CNN Newsroom" in a bit.
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